Data Dump: Quarterback/Coach Pairs

by Chase Stuart on September 5, 2015

Reading 538’s NFC East preview got me thinking about head coach and quarterback pairs. The Giants are currently enjoying a very long stretch of quarterback/coach consistency, but New York’s franchise history is filled with that sort of commitment. Washington, meanwhile, has not had one quarterback/coach combination reach five years together in 30 seasons!

So today, a quick data dump. Below are all instances where one coach and one quarterback were together for at least five seasons for each franchise. A quarterback gets credit for a season if he led his team in passing yards that year. For each team, I’ve listed the number of years the coach/quarterback were together in parentheses.

Team	Most	Combinations
NWE	13	Tom Brady--Bill Belichick; (13); Babe Parilli--Mike Holovak; (6)
MIA	12	Dan Marino--Don Shula; (12); Bob Griese--Don Shula; (9)
PIT	12	Terry Bradshaw--Chuck Noll; (12); Ben Roethlisberger--Mike Tomlin; (8)
KAN	12	Len Dawson--Hank Stram; (12); Trent Green--Dick Vermeil; (5)
DEN	10	John Elway--Dan Reeves; (10)
NYG	10	Eli Manning--Tom Coughlin; (10); Phil Simms--Bill Parcells; (7); Charlie Conerly--Jim Lee Howell; (6); Charlie Conerly--Steve Owen; (6); Kerry Collins--Jim Fassel; (5); Ed Danowski--Steve Owen; (5)
PHI	10	Donovan McNabb--Andy Reid; (10); Tommy Thompson--Greasy Neale; (7); Ron Jaworski--Dick Vermeil; (6); Norm Snead--Joe Kuharich; (5)
BUF	10	Jim Kelly--Marv Levy; (10); Joe Ferguson--Chuck Knox; (5)
CLE	10	Otto Graham--Paul Brown; (10); Brian Sipe--Sam Rutigliano; (6); Frank Ryan--Blanton Collier; (5)
SEA	9	Dave Krieg--Chuck Knox; (9); Matt Hasselbeck--Mike Holmgren; (7); Jim Zorn--Jack Patera; (6)
GNB	9	Bart Starr--Vince Lombardi; (9); Aaron Rodgers--Mike McCarthy; (7); Brett Favre--Mike Holmgren; (7); Arnie Herber--Curly Lambeau; (7); Brett Favre--Mike Sherman; (6); Lynn Dickey--Bart Starr; (6);
DAL	8	Roger Staubach--Tom Landry; (8); Don Meredith--Tom Landry; (7); Danny White--Tom Landry; (6); Troy Aikman--Jimmy Johnson; (5)
NOR	8	Drew Brees--Sean Payton; (8); Aaron Brooks--Jim Haslett; (5); Bobby Hebert--Jim Mora; (5)
SDG	8	Dan Fouts--Don Coryell; (8); John Hadl--Sid Gillman; (8); Philip Rivers--Norv Turner; (6); Stan Humphries--Bobby Ross; (5)
SFO	8	Joe Montana--Bill Walsh; (8); Steve Young--George Seifert; (6); Frankie Albert--Buck Shaw; (6); John Brodie--Dick Nolan; (5)
TEN	8	Steve McNair--Jeff Fisher; (8); Dan Pastorini--Bum Phillips; (5)
JAX	8	Mark Brunell--Tom Coughlin; (8); David Garrard--Jack Del Rio; (5)
BAL	7	Joe Flacco--John Harbaugh; (7)
HOU	7	Matt Schaub--Gary Kubiak; (7)
IND	7	Peyton Manning--Tony Dungy; (7); Johnny Unitas--Weeb Ewbank; (7); Johnny Unitas--Don Shula; (6)
CIN	7	Boomer Esiason--Sam Wyche; (7); Carson Palmer--Marvin Lewis; (6)
ATL	7	Matt Ryan--Mike Smith; (7); Chris Chandler--Dan Reeves; (5); Steve Bartkowski--Leeman Bennett; (5); Bob Berry--Norm Van Brocklin; (5)
WAS	7	Billy Kilmer--George Allen; (7); Joe Theismann--Joe Gibbs; (5); Sammy Baugh--Ray Flaherty; (5)
MIN	7	Fran Tarkenton--Bud Grant; (7); Fran Tarkenton--Norm Van Brocklin; (6); Tommy Kramer--Bud Grant; (5)
DET	6	Bobby Layne--Buddy Parker; (6)
CAR	6	Jake Delhomme--John Fox; (6)
OAK	6	Ken Stabler--John Madden; (6)
STL	6	Jim Everett--John Robinson; (6); Roman Gabriel--George Allen; (5)
CHI	6	Jim McMahon--Mike Ditka; (6); Sid Luckman--George Halas; (5); Bernie Masterson--George Halas; (5)
NYJ	6	Joe Namath--Weeb Ewbank; (6); Ken O'Brien--Joe Walton; (5); Richard Todd--Walt Michaels; (5)
ARI	5	Jim Hart--Don Coryell; (5)
TAM	5	Doug Williams--John McKay; (5)

Right now, the Patriots (13 entering 2015), Giants (10), Steelers (8), Saints (8), Packers (7), and Ravens (7) are all enjoying long streaks of continuity at quarterback and head coach. The Cowboys’ Tony Romo and Jason Garrett are entering their 5th full season together, as are Andy Dalton and Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati and Cam Newton and Ron Rivera in Carolina. And, of course, we can expect Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll to join this list after the 2017 season.

Enjoy, and leave your thoughts in the comments.

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